Your Move
by vikki1818
Summary: Picking up right Rome, Lizzie and Gordo's relationship changes. AN: Story is finally finished!
1. Chapter 1

"Hold it, hold it! What is this? Are you trying to trick me? Where's the sports?" Fred Savage's voice came from the TV. He took a dramatic pause before he suspiciously asked his Grandpa, "Is this a kissing book?"

"Man I love that kid." Gordo said, "He says what all the other males in the audience are thinking but afraid to say out loud."

"Oh come on Gordo" Lizzie's voice came from beside him, "The Princess Bride is one of the most romantic movies of all time- you can't deny that."

Gordo made a face and sat back further into the couch, "Just because a movie is romantic doesn't automatically make it a good movie."

"But all good stories have romance in them" Lizzie protested, grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl sitting between them on the couch in Lizzie's living room.

"I beg to differ--" Gordo countered, "What about Moby Dick… To Kill a Mockingbird… Lord of the Flies? All are exceptional stories, yet have no romance."

Lizzie gave him a look and asked, "First off, I've never seen any of those movies," Gordo made a small snort at this comment, "And second off, do you always have to prove me wrong?"

He smiled and tilted his head at her with a nod, "It seems to be the recurring trend, yes."

Lizzie halfheartedly gave him a dirty look before flashing him a smile. He grinned back at her before something in his eyes changed and Lizzie felt her heart speed up. They looked at each other for a long moment before Lizzie hastily got up, her cheeks burning. "Want something to drink?" she asked nervously, shifting from foot to foot.

"No, um…" He uncomfortably pushed some of his brown curls out of his eyes before turning back to the TV, "I'm good."

Lizzie said, "Be right back" and made a hasty retreat to the kitchen.

Once there she put her face into the fridge, willing her cheeks to cool down and wondering if Gordo noticed how red she was. Ever since Rome more of these types of moments happened. She and Gordo would be joking about something like usual when things would suddenly turn serious and Lizzie would feel the simultaneous urge to run from the room or kiss Gordo again like she did on that rooftop. She took a deep breath, grabbed a coke from the fridge and walked back into the living room.

Lizzie took a double take, however, when she realized Gordo, who had before been sitting on the end of the couch, had switched places with the popcorn. Now he was sitting in the middle next to her and the popcorn was on the end. She stood there for a second and examined at Gordo, who was staring fixedly at the TV, now apparently engrossed with the film.

Not wanting to appear awkward, she kept walking and sat back down in her seat, now right next to Gordo. _Did he do that on purpose so he could sit closer to me?_ she wondered, settling back in her spot. As the movie played on, Lizzie's mind was racing with thoughts. _Does that mean he still likes me, even after how I treated him in Rome? I mean, he did respond to my kiss on the rooftop… but all he said was 'thanks' and we never mentioned it again. Maybe he just felt a draft or was more comfortable in the middle seat. Don't make a big deal about it Lizzie._

It wasn't until 15 minutes later, during the sword fight between Wesley and Victor Montoya that Lizzie realized that Gordo's left hand had moved from his lap down onto the couch and closer to her. _Is he doing that on purpose? Does he want to hold my hand? _She looked at it for a few seconds, debating on if she should move her own hand off her lap in the same position next to his. _I'll just make it look natural, like I'm moving my hand for no reason at all…_

Biting her lip and praying for courage, Lizzie slowly eased her right hand off of her own leg and onto the couch cushion next to his hand, but not quite touching it. She let out a deep breath and willed her heart to slow down. It felt like this was some sort of chess game they were playing with each other. _If that is the case- it's his move._

All thoughts of the movie pushed aside, Lizzie sat very still, careful not to let her hand touch Gordo's. After a few minutes she glanced over at Gordo, who was staring down at their hands, biting his lip. _Does he want to hold my hand? Is he scared? _Less than a minute later she felt her heart leap into her throat as his warm hand slowly and tentatively cover hers. She let herself soak in the moment for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and turning her hand around and intertwining her fingers with his. He responded to this movement by squeezing her hand softly and Lizzie felt her heart soar. It seemed like such a simple movement to hold a person's hand, but it made Lizzie's whole body feel on fire.

She glanced quickly over at Gordo. He was watching the movie, a kind of sly grin dancing across his lips. She realized the same grin was spread across her own face. _Its like we have some sort of secret that only the two of us know about_, she thought with a smile.

They sat like that during the fight with the giant, poison scene, and where Buttercup realizes Wesley's true identity. When Buttercup and Wesley went into the scary woods Lizzie, without a second thought to her change in movement, wrapped her arms around Gordo's middle and whispered into his shoulder, "I hate this part. Those rodent things are scary."

Gordo laughed and hesitated for a second before he pulled her a little closer, "But we haven't even gotten to that part yet."

"I know that…" Lizzie protested, "But I know they're coming and that makes it scary."

He laughed and Lizzie took a moment to appreciate the new position they were in. Gordo was sitting towards the TV, his arms holding on firmly to hers, which were wrapped around his chest. She could feel his heart beating quickly though her hands. While her eyes were still on the movie, Lizzie's body was facing towards Gordo with her head lying on his shoulder. His shirt was soft against her cheek.

Lizzie stifled a yawn as she realized just how comfortable she felt snuggled closely to him. She took a deep breath in and let herself get lost in his scent. She wasn't able to enjoy it for long, however, because not a minute later her mom popped her head into the living room.

"Lizzie, its time for Gordo to go home, you know the rules since you've been grounded." She stopped in middle of the doorway as she saw Lizzie and Gordo wrapped together on the couch. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open a bit as her eyes washed over the pair of them.

Lizzie and Gordo pulled apart hastily and both stood up quickly. Mrs. McGuire looked at both of them as if she couldn't quite believe her eyes.

There was a long pause as they all stood there in the living room, the movie still playing in the background. "Okay well, we can finish this later" Lizzie said, wringing her hands together, but stopping as the implications of her own words hit her. "I mean, the movie… we can finish the **movie** later." She grimaced at her own stupidity.

"Yeah, that'd be good." Gordo said with a deep breath as he glanced up at the ceiling.

_Hand it to Mom to create the world's most embarrassing moment ever!_ Lizzie's inner monologue screamed. There was a long silence as they all continued to stand there, Mrs. McGuire still standing between them with a shocked look on her face.

"O-kay…Well, I'll see you tomorrow…" Gordo said awkwardly, heading towards the hallway. Lizzie followed him into the hallway and gave him an apologetic glance as he looked back at her before he closed the door on his way out. He shrugged his shoulders and gave her a half grin before shutting it firmly behind him.

Despite the incredibly awkward ending to the night, Lizzie stood there smiling for a moment, his grin still lingering in her mind. "Lizzie?" her mother's voice sounded from behind her.

She turned around to face her mother. "I'm really tired Mom, I think I'll head up to bed" she said this quickly as she started up the stairs. The last thing she needed was her mother telling her she shouldn't be starting a relationship at such a young age.

"But, Lizzie--" she tried to continue.

"Goodnight Mom!" she called, running up the last few stairs and closing her door behind her quickly.

* * *

**A/N**: Hi Everyone! So this could just be a one-shot, but I have a few more ideas for a few more chapters. What do you guys think, should I continue?

Also, thanks to Jason for his input on this story!!


	2. Chapter 2

Taking a deep breath for courage, Gordo pressed down on the doorbell and stood back in anticipation. His palms were slightly sweaty and he hoped against all hope that Mrs. McGuire wouldn't open the door. It wasn't that he didn't like Mrs. McGuire or anything, in fact he sometimes thought of her as a second mother-- but after last night he wasn't sure how much he wanted to be alone in a room with her.

"Hi Mrs. McGuire!" he exclaimed a bit too loudly as she pulled the door open and smiled at him.

"Hey Gordo" she gave him a little smile and stood to the side so he could walk in. "How are you doing today?" She seemed to be examining him closely.

He gulped. "Uh… good, great…" he trailed off and rocked back and forth on his feet. "Is, um, Lizzie upstairs?"

"Yeah, you can head on up if you'd like" she said.

"Thanks… I'll, um, do that" he stuttered and almost sprinted up the first few steps. _Smooth Gordon… real smooth._ He shook his head at himself and felt his heart speed up again at the sight of Lizzie's door. Miranda got back from her trip to Mexico this morning and they had all planned on hanging out at Lizzie's house that afternoon for a reunion.

They hadn't planned on getting together until 2, but he had left his house around 1:30, hoping to get Lizzie's house a bit early to talk. _Talk about what?_ his mind prompted. He bit his lip and paused at the top step. It had taken him a few weeks to gather up the courage to even hold her hand, and even that hadn't gone as well as he had planned.

_No_, he thought, _it went perfectly-- until Mrs. McGuire walked in._ He loved the feel of her smaller, colder hand enveloped in his own. And she had smelled so good curled up against him. He knew he should try to talk to Lizzie about what had happened the night before, but he just wasn't sure he had the guts to do it. And then there was the question of how she felt about it all. _She did kiss you in Rome_, a small, hopeful voice in his head asserted. _But maybe she was just saying thank you for saving her from being embarrassed in front of a huge crowd of people…_He took a deep breath and knocked lightly on her half open door. "Come in" her voice called from inside. He pushed the door open and poked his head in.

She was sitting at her dressing table putting on lip gloss, wearing light blue sweatpants and a tank top. "Oh hey-" she saw him in the mirror and stopped for a moment, looking surprised before spinning around to look at him. "I wasn't expecting you till 2, I haven't even gotten dressed yet." She seemed slightly flustered as she pushed some of her long blonde hair out of her face.

He took a look at the clothes piled up on her bed and on the floor around her closet, "It looks like your closet exploded all over your room." He grinned.

She smiled before she stood up and put her hand on her hip, "It is all apart of the process of trying to figure out what to wear." She crossed the room and started rooting through a pile of shirts on her bed, "Mr. I pick out the first shirt I see on the hanger."

"Hey, I didn't say anything was wrong with the process" he said, putting up his hands defensively and sitting down next to one of her piles.

"It was implied" she said with a grin, holding up a pink shirt up to examine. "Which one do you think?" she asked, holding a pink and purple shirt up to him.

He shrugged, "I like both."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Is that all the help you are going to give me?" She looked at him incredulously.

"What? You look beautiful in both" he said quickly. _What else does she want me to say?_ his mind tried to work quickly to think of the right thing.

What he said, however, seemed to work, because the next thing he knew her face broke into a smile as she bent her head down and bashfully grabbed a jean skirt from another pile. It seemed crazy that a small comment from him would produce such a reaction in her. His breath caught in his throat as he continued to stare at her, trying furiously to think of what to say next.

"I'm gonna go change" she gave him a small grin and disappeared behind the bathroom door.

After she left he blew out a breath and lay down on her bed, trying to get himself to calm down. He wasn't sure what he was expecting to happen but he felt this anxious sort of anticipation building up inside of his stomach. After a few seconds he sat back up and looked around her room. "Do you need help hanging your clothes back up?" he called to the bathroom door.

"You don't have to if you don't want to" she called, her voice slightly muffled.

"Its fine" he called back, grateful to have something to do with his hands. He picked up a few shirts from the pile and walked over to her closet. After a minute or so she reappeared, wearing a green shirt with a jean skirt and an assortment of large bracelets. He smiled at her and continued to hang up shirts.

She joined in. "So have you talked to Miranda yet?" he asked as and he walked back to the bed to pick up some more clothes.

"She called when she got in this morning, I think she's been unpacking and getting settled in."

Gordo picked up another pile of clothes and paused when he noticed a small pink stuffed animal poking out from underneath her covers. "Mr. Snuggles?" he said incredulously, picking up the worn pink pig.

Lizzie froze in the act of putting a shirt on a hanger. She turned around slowly as Gordo continued to stare at Mr. Snuggles in his hands. "I can't believe you still have this" he said slowly, his mind traveling back in time. Mr. Snuggles had actually belonged to him until he was two until Lizzie had stolen it when they were toddlers during some play date their mothers had set them up on.

He, of course, couldn't actually remember owning Snuggles but he had always remembered their mothers laughing about it and saying that Gordo 'was so sweet to let Lizzie have his pig.' Gordo had always scoffed at this, saying the reason he let her have it was because he didn't want to have a pink thing in his room. Secretly, he always really liked the idea of her keeping it close to her, even though it took him until the age of 13 to figure out why.

"Well, see…" Lizzie said, her voice distinctly uncomfortable, "I can't exactly sleep without him…"

Gordo looked up at her bashful face, a sudden courage stealing him, "You know…" he said thoughtfully, "Technically Mr. Snuggles **still** belongs to me."

Her face changed as her mouth dropped open in mock anger, "I think since I've had him for over a decade now, he **technically** belongs to me."

"I don't know," he gave a dramatic sigh and looked at the pig thoughtfully, "I've missed it for a long time, I think it's my turn. Plus, you didn't even ask if you could have it."

She took a step towards him and Mr. Snuggles, a smirk on her face, "First off, Mr. Snuggles is not an 'it.' He has feelings." Gordo swallowed down his smile at this comment to keep up the act. "Second off, you haven't wanted him all this time, so I don't think you were all that upset at losing him in the first place."

He took a step towards her and lowered his voice a bit as he said, "Just because I didn't say it doesn't mean I didn't want it."

Her jaw seemed to drop a bit lower and there was a pause between them. Gordo couldn't believe he had just said that as boldly as he did. He decided to get back on safer ground.

"I think I'm going to have to confiscate this" he said, holding the pig closely to his side and walking towards the door.

"Wait! Gordo!" her voice was high as she came after him, "I can't sleep without him!" He laughed as she reached for it but missed as he held it above his head. "Gordo, this is not funny!" she exclaimed, giggling.

"Then why are you laughing?" he mocked her as he took a step back when she jumped up and tried to grab the pig again.

She finally took desperate measures and grabbed onto his arm that was holding Mr. Snuggles in the air. He tried to switch hands he was using to hold the pig before she got up to it but she was ready for him and pinned his other arm down to his side. This caused the top half of her body to be pinned against him, almost as if she were giving him a hug.

"I've got you now" she exclaimed triumphantly as she had almost grabbed onto the pig. Her face seemed entirely too close to his.

"Just give it up, he's mine McGuire" he laughed. He backed up a bit, trying to free himself from her grasp and keep the pig but she moved with him, their hands still fighting over ownership of Mr. Snuggles. She was giggling and Gordo felt like his stomach, which seemed so full of anxiety before, was on fire now. His whole body was tingling at their proximity with each other.

He continued backing up as she chased after him, their upper bodies still connected. He felt the back of his knees connect with the bed and his body tumble backwards, Lizzie falling with him. They both landed with an "Umph!" as she landed hard on Gordo's chest.

The fight continued, but Gordo now had a little more trouble concentrating on keeping the pig with Lizzie's body covering his own and the soft bed pressed against his back. Their legs were tangled together hanging off the edge of the bed. Her chest was firmly pressed against his own and their faces seemed inches apart. She scooted a bit higher as she grabbed the pig out of his hand with almost no effort.

"Got it" she whispered with a grin. She pulled the pig so that she was now holding it behind her back but made no move to get up from that position.

He stared into her eyes, completely at a loss for what to say next but unable to keep his eyes off of her. Her long blonde hair was wild and hanging down from the sides of her face, tickling his neck as she stared down at him. Unable to stop himself, he brought his right hand up to the side of her face and into her hair. She bit her lip and brought her face a bit closer to his own.

"Lizzie! Gordo! Miranda's here!" Mrs. McGuire's voice rang from downstairs.

They both jumped up and scrambled away from each other, knocking their foreheads together in the process. "Oww…" Lizzie said, standing up and holding her forehead in her hands.

Gordo was doing the same thing and was about to see if she was okay when Miranda popped into the room, looking windswept and tan. "What's going on?" she asked, looking puzzled at both of them.

"Um, we, um…" Lizzie started and trailed off.

"We were putting away clothes…" Gordo said, trying to think fast.

"And we both reached for the same shirt…" Lizzie continued looking at him pointedly.

"And we bumped heads." Gordo finished and a sheepish smile.

"O-kay…" Miranda said, eyeing them suspiciously now. "Well give a hug you guys!" she exclaimed after a pause.

They both ran towards her and they all hugged for while, both girls squealing with happiness. "It's so good to finally be home!" Miranda said as she leaned back and looked at them.

"You were gone way too long" Lizzie said.

"Agreed" Gordo chimed in.

They all pulled back and sat down on Lizzie's bed. "So what did I miss?" Miranda asked, pulling her legs underneath of her.

Gordo and Lizzie looked at each other for a second before saying at the same time, "A lot."

* * *

A/N: Wow! Thanks for the huge response with the last chapter!! I'm thinking this story won't be too long, and will probably be more fluff than anything. So if you are wondering, 'where are we going to get more storyline?'- there isn't going to be a whole lot with this one :o) Also, I'm sorry I can't give out personal shout outs with this story- I actually found out that doesn't allow it so I don't want to cause any trouble. But I really appreciate all the reviews I got and am taking them all to heart! 


	3. Chapter 3

Lizzie could not make up her mind. She loved flirting with Gordo, loved seeing him so often, and loved it when they cuddled on the couch or fought over Mr. Snuggles. But as much as she loved all of these things, she could not handle this anticipation building up inside of her anymore. That tight, continual building of tension somewhere deep within her stomach that made her feel so elated and nauseous at the same time. That excited, queasy, happy, awful, and amazing feeling.

Today she thought she would be safe. School was starting up in a few days and she planned on spending the day labeling her binders and page dividers with the new colored milk pens her mother had bought her. Granted, part of her ached to just show up at Gordo's house unannounced so she could see him…but part of her was glad because then she could be safe from…_that_ feeling.

That was, until he walked in, unannounced through the back door-- like he sometimes did. He seemed so calm and collected. Lizzie, on the other hand, felt her stomach clench up again, _that_ feeling suddenly filling her up completely.

She just smiled at him as he sat down next to her on the floor, looking at her supplies. "Whatcha doing?" he asked.

"Just labeling my binders for school" Lizzie answered, pulling her Geometry binder towards her to put some loose-leaf paper in it.

"You do realize that binder is hot pink right?" Gordo asked, leaning back against the couch and making himself comfortable.

"Isn't it cute?" she asked, putting a sticker on the top and showing it to him.

"Like, totally." He said this in a monotone voice but with a dramatic wave of the hand.

Lizzie giggled a bit and leaned back on the couch a little closer to him. "So, are you all ready for high school?" she asked, fiddling with her history binder.

"Yeah, I guess so" he shrugged, "I'm going to be taking some pretty advanced classes, so that will be fun, a challenge."

"Wait--" Lizzie looked up at him, "So you won't be in classes with me and Miranda?"

He took a deep breath and looked at her carefully, "Well it's a pretty big school, so there isn't even a guarantee that you and Miranda will have the same classes." Lizzie felt her mouth fall open, she had never thought about this before. "And plus, I'm one of the only freshmen coming in taking Chemistry and Advanced Geometry. I'm really excited to finally be given a challenge with my work."

Lizzie bit her lip and leaned forward to wrap her arms around her knees. Was Gordo going to leave her behind again like he did last year? "Yeah I guess that makes sense." She did understand, she understood that the classes in middle school were way too easy for Gordo and that he really did belong in the advanced classes in high school. But that didn't mean she liked it.

"Lizzie-" he paused for a moment before scooting closer to her and wrapping his left arm around her shoulders, "It'll be okay, I promise." Lizzie didn't say anything, "We'll see each other during lunch, in between classes, before school, after school- whenever you want. What did I tell you right before our class picture when school let out last spring?"

She thought for a second before answering, "That you weren't going anywhere."

He looked into her eyes before saying, "And that hasn't changed." Lizzie wasn't sure if it was what he was saying or the fact that his arm was wrapped around her that she felt a fuzzy warmness spread throughout her body. _That_ feeling, which had caused her to be so anxious before, felt more like a wonderful buzz now.

"Thanks Gordo" she breathed. She took a deep breath before trying to explain herself. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to seem like I don't want you to take the classes you want to take. I really want you to be happy and, even thought I'm not sure this is possible, I want you to be even smarter than you are now if that is what you want… it's just--" she paused, "I don't like change."

He looked deep into her eyes for a second before looking thoughtful and answering, "Well a little change isn't always bad."

She felt her stomach leap in that anxious, elated sort of way before bashfully looking down at the ground and biting her lip. The moment was gone in a second when she heard the front door being opened and her mother breezed into the hallway, her arms full of groceries.

She felt Gordo's arm fall from her shoulder, so she stood up and turned around to look down at him. "Want to go for a walk?" she asked, thinking that if they got out of her house they could maybe _finally_ have some privacy.

He hopped up and nodded and they headed for the door, passing her mother in the process. "Hey you guys" Mrs. McGuire said obviously struggling under the weight of her large bags.

"Can't talk Mom, we're on our way out!" Lizzie called, pulling the door open and ushering Gordo out of the door. They both walked down the driveway together before Lizzie realized she wasn't sure where to go. She paused momentarily before looking to Gordo and asking, "So… where shall we walk?" It was a beautiful day and the breeze caught some of Gordo's curls framing his face.

"We can head to the park?" he suggested, waving his hand in that direction.

"Okay" Lizzie nodded and put her hands in her pockets.

They walked in a comfortable silence, both sinking in the beauty of the day. At one point Lizzie realized that Gordo's hand was lying limply by his side, so she followed suit and wondered if he would hold her hand like he did the other night during the movie.

After a few minutes of walking though, Gordo still hadn't made his move. She inwardly sighed, wondering if he didn't have the courage to do so or if he didn't want to hold her hand. It was funny, Gordo seemed to have no problems with flirting with her yesterday before Miranda came over, or saying nice things like earlier…but for some reason he seemed never to be the one to make the move. _You could hold his hand…_a small voice inside her head piped up, although she wasn't too excited about that idea. She just started to consider that option when they walked into the gates of the park.

The park was a place her and Gordo spent several years together growing up. Actually, it was located right between their houses in the community they lived in, so they tended to meet in the middle here on days that Lizzie needed to get away from Matt (because he was a brat even as a baby) or Gordo wanted to get away from his parents. It was surrounded by woods, which tended to be scary at nighttime, but was perfect to come to on a pretty day. Luckily, because it was a Tuesday and the younger kids in the neighborhood were in daycare, it was empty.

Feeling rather full of energy all of a sudden, Lizzie started climbing up a metal slide to get to the top of the jungle gym. She treaded her way over a rope bridge to the other side of the complex and got a good view of the surrounding trees.

"It's beautiful up here!" she exclaimed, wishing she could do a cartwheel but decided there wasn't enough room. She settled on a handstand, although she wasn't able to hold it long.

She came up and looked around the playground for a second. "Gordo?" she asked out loud, not seeing him in her line of sight. It was quiet and Lizzie felt her stomach jump before she called out again, "Gordo?!"

Silence. She grabbed a firefighter pole attached to the jungle gym and slid down it, looking around. Turning the corner, she was thinking she might try looking back on the other side of the park when a pair of arms wrapped around her stomach from the back and lifted her up off the ground.

Lizzie screamed loudly and swatted at the hands, which dropped her to the ground and let her turn around. Gordo stood there, looking awfully pleased with himself. "Gordo!" she exclaimed, "You scared the heck out of me!!" she cried, pushing him in the chest with her hands. He grabbed her hands as he was falling back to steady himself and Lizzie felt herself being pulled a little forward.

Not letting go of her hands he said, "You have to admit though, I had you." Lizzie narrowed her eyes at him as he did a poor impersonation of her voice, "Gordo?!" She tried not to, but a small smile escaped her lips.

She eyed the swings behind her and said quickly, "Race you to the swings!" She ran quickly in that direction, not giving him a chance to get started before she made it and took the swing on the right. She jumped into the swing and got herself situated as Gordo came running into view behind her.

"This was definitely not fair" Gordo said, panting slightly. "You didn't even give me a chance."

Lizzie shrugged her shoulders and began pumping her legs on the swing, "That was a little something I like to call payback." She said this matter-of-factly, brushing some of her long blonde hair out of her face before continuing to pump her legs even harder. "Plus, there is another swing here you can use."

Gordo pursed his lips together in a half grin before looking at the baby seat swing on her left. It was the kind that was made of thick black plastic with small leg holes that no adult could possibly fit their legs through if they tried. He tilted his head to the side and just looked at her, causing her smile to widen further. "What?" she asked casually, continuing to swing back and forth merrily.

"I'm sorry miss" he said, crossing his arms in front of him in a very official way, "I'm going to have to confiscate that swing from you."

"And how will you do that?" Lizzie laughed.

"A little trick I like to call- Operation Tickle Lizzie" Gordo said, rolling up his sleeves and closing in on her.

"Gordo no!" Lizzie exclaimed, now stopping pumping her legs.

He grabbed her legs, which were still swinging back and forth, and wrapped his arms around them and used his body to stop her momentum. She was giggling madly, still protesting when he finally stopped her and tried to pull her off the swing by grabbing her shoulders. She had already wrapped her arms around the chains of the swing so he wasn't able to pull her very easily.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way" he said calmly, looking at her with an eyebrow raised.

"I'll never give up!" she cried with a giggle.

"Okay, it looks like it'll be the hard way" he said with a small laugh that seemed to escape from his mouth. He paused for a second before attacking her stomach and tickling her in a way that only someone who had been her friend her whole life would know how to do. He always seemed to know the exact right spot on her side to tickle and make her scream with laughter.

It was funny, because he had tickled her so many times growing up-- but it wasn't until now that Lizzie realized just how intimate and exciting it was. His hands covered her stomach and wrapped around her sides, causing Lizzie to double, partially due to the fact that he was tickling her, and partially due to the fact that his hands were wrapped around her and dangerously close to her chest.

He slid his arms around her back, almost as if he was going to hug her, but before Lizzie knew it she was being slid off of the swing towards Gordo. "No!!" she cried out, trying to grab for the chain of the swing but missing as he pulled her away.

He put his hands on her hips and spun her around so they switched places. Lizzie realized what he was doing just as he was about to sit in the swing she just vacated. "I don't think so!" she cried with a laugh, grabbing his shirt and yanking him back towards her and trying to grab the seat for herself.

They had both lunged for it at the same time, colliding and landing at the same time next to each other on the sandy ground. Gordo persisted his attack on her stomach and Lizzie continued to scream with laughter.

Their legs became tangled again as they had on the bed the other day and Lizzie felt sand getting all over her hair and clothes. Part of her felt like she should want to brush it off but it actually made her feel sort of out of control and excited.

He kept tickling her, his body getting closer and closer to hers until she finally relented. "Okay!" she cried, "I give up!"

He paused, one of his hands resting on her hip and the other on the side of her stomach, causing Lizzie to feel prickles all along her skin where her shirt had ridden up. "I'm sorry?" he asked, pausing a second before continuing to tickle her more, now on bare skin, "I didn't hear that- what did you say?"

She giggled some more before saying loudly, "You win! I give up!"

"That's what I thought you said" he smiled and didn't move for a moment.

Lizzie's mouth suddenly went dry as they both stared at each other. She hoped that he would kiss her, but wasn't sure he would. His eyes became serious as his eyes flickered down to her mouth. Lizzie gulped and licked her lips uncertainly.

After a moment of nothing happening, Lizzie decided to give him a sign. She inched herself forward a few inches towards him, hoping he would take the hint. He responded by wrapping one of his arms a little tighter around her back and running the other hand up the side of her partially bare stomach, stopping at her rib-cage. Lizzie felt more tingles shoot through her body to her center, unsure just how much of this she could take.

He looked at her for a few moments, still not moving and it was all Lizzie could do but not yell out for him to just kiss her already. She tried desperately to let him know that she wanted this too by communicating with her eyes but he seemed glued to the spot.

Lizzie moved in just a fraction of an inch closer before Gordo seemed to gather himself for a moment before he took a deep breath and began to lean in towards her. Lizzie leaned in to meet him halfway and let her eyes flutter close as they were about an inch away from each other.

His lips grazed hers for a moment before he pulled away uncertainly, the kiss even shorter than the one in Rome. Even for a moment though, Lizzie felt her heart leap into her throat. Hungry for a more substantial connection, Lizzie leaned back in to capture his lips again.

Just as their lips were about to touch this time Lizzie heart a loud, annoying, and very familiar voice break out into song above her. "Lizzie and Gordo sitting in a tree!" her brother's voice carried across the playground, "K-I-S-S-i.n.g!"

Lizzie paused mid-motion, her anger flaring up as she quickly sat up in her spot and glared at Matt who was standing on top of one of the slides on the playground.

He looked triumphant (he had been looking for a way to get her back since his plans were foiled in Rome) and bolted in the direction of her house before she got a chance to react. "Matt!" she shrieked, about jump up to run after him, but remembered Gordo, who had sat up next to her at this point, looking surprised.

"I have to go take care of him before he tells my parents" she exclaimed, standing up quickly. Judging from how her mother responded the other night, Lizzie could only imagine the reaction she would have.

"Go ahead-" he motioned for her to go, "I'll see you later." He watched her go until he saw her long blonde hair disappearing around the corner.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm so sorry to everyone who liked this story. I had a little time away from the writing world, but I'm back to finish off this story, which has actually been sitting on my computer almost done for a while. Hope that everyone enjoys the last chapter!

* * *

She would have felt a little more embarrassed if she wasn't so angry. As she ran home, hoping to catch Matt before he told her mom that he had caught her and Gordo kissing in the park, she cursed herself for having such a nosy, inquisitive family. Gordo had always been jealous of her family, as his parents rarely even paid attention to him, but it was things like this that really ticked her off. First her mom making things completely weird and embarrassing the other night while they were watching the movie-- now this.

She knew that Gordo wouldn't care, but she was still really upset about it. It felt strange that her and Gordo would even be caught kissing in the first place and she wasn't sure she felt ready for everyone to know yet. _At the same time, it felt so right to be lying there with him in the sand… _Despite the anger now coursing through her veins, she felt a prickle of excitement course through her center, remembering the feel of Gordo's hands on her bare stomach and back as he kissed her.

By the time she showed up at her house she was breathing hard. She burst through her door and saw Matt coming out of the kitchen about the head up the stairs. "Matt!" she exclaimed, "I'm going to kill you!"

He took one look at her wild expression before deciding to stop in his tracks his hands up in the air defensively. "Actually I think _you'll_ be the one that is dead after I tell Mom" he taunted her.

She growled and ran towards him on the stairs, tackling him to the ground as he had started to run up them again. She was about to give him the biggest wedgie of his life when her Mom showed up at the top of the stairs looking inquisitive. "Tell Mom what?" she asked.

Lizzie and Matt both stopped mid-motion and sprung away from each other. There was a pause as Lizzie tried to think of what to say. Matt beat her to the punch, "I saw Gordo and Lizzie kissing in the park!"

Lizzie tried to make a swing at him while she yelled, "Matt!" but he ducked underneath her and ran up the stairs to her mom.

"Lizzie!" Her mom reprimanded, "Leave your brother alone." Matt looked gleeful and stuck his tongue out at her. "I want you to go downstairs to the living room."

Lizzie looked at her apprehensively, "What for?"

"We need to talk" was all she said. Lizzie felt her stomach drop, as she could feel the 'you're not ready for this kind of step' talk coming. Matt, on the other hand, looked like Christmas had come early. "And Matt--" she paused for a moment as he looked up at her with a hopeful look on his face, "I want you to go to your room for the rest of the afternoon."

His face fell as he jumped up in indignation. "What for!?" he cried.

"For spying on your sister" she said, crossing her arms in front of her.

His mouth dropped open in surprise as he sputtered, "But--…I--" Mrs. McGuire raised an eyebrow at him and tilted her head to the side a bit before he finally stomped upstairs.

Lizzie sat on the couch, staring down at the floor, knowing that this was going to be terrible. Her mom quietly came in and sat down on the couch next to her. Lizzie could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"Is what your brother said true?" her mother asked quietly.

Lizzie sat for a moment, debating on if it was worse to lie or to actually tell her mother she had been kissing her childhood friend. After a moment though, she felt herself nodding slowly.

There was a long silence in which Lizzie braced herself for the blow.

"Oh Lizzie!" her mother finally exclaimed, "I'm so happy, I've been waiting for this moment for so long."

Lizzie's jaw dropped and looked up in surprise. "What?" she squeaked.

"You and Gordo! When was it? Sometime this summer? Oh, or was it in Rome?! Lizzie, he's liked you for so long, I was wondering when you'd finally notice him." Her mother gushed on, grasping Lizzie's hand and smiling as if she had won the million dollar jackpot.

"But—" Lizzie gaped at her, "I thought I was in trouble…"

"Oh no, honey, what would you be in trouble for? It was a perfectly natural thing to have happened. In fact, I couldn't be happier than if you had picked any other guy." Her mother beamed at her.

Lizzie still sat in shock, trying to process everything her mother was saying. "So—" her mother hesitated, "How long have you guys been going steady? Did he make the first move?"

Lizzie rolled her eyes, "Mom, they don't call it 'going steady' anymore.."

Her mother looked apologetic, "I'm sorry, How long have you been…um…going out?"

Lizzie narrowed her eyes at her, "I don't know if I want to talk about it with you."

Her mother's face dropped. "Oh. I'm sorry, I just thought that maybe, I don't know, I could give you some advice or something if you needed it."

Lizzie looked back down at her hands, "Well, I don't need your help."

There was a pause and she felt her mom gathering herself to stand up. "Okay, well, that's fine…I'll just…leave you be then." She heard the hurt in her mother's voice.

Lizzie's insides seemed to drop and she had an internal battle with herself. She didn't want her mom to butt in, but at the same time she really did need some advice on what to do.

"Mom—wait" she said quickly. Mrs. McGuire quickly turned around with a hopeful smile. "Actually…I think I could use some advice."

"I'm all ears" her mother said excitedly, sitting down next to her on the couch.

"Well…" Lizzie said, unsure of where to start, "Things kind of started last year, back at my murder mystery party…see Kate Sanders told me that Gordo had…has a crush on me."

"You never realized it before?" her mother asked, surprised.

Lizzie shook her head, "Well, it took me a while to realize I liked him too, and…well, I kissed him…in Rome."

Her mother let out a sigh, "Oh how romantic!" Lizzie's cheeks burned, her mother could get quite overdramatic sometimes. "And then what?"

"Well, not too much until this past week when we held hands during the movie and just today when we kissed in the park" Lizzie said.

"So when did he ask you out?" Mrs. McGuire inquired.

"See, that's the thing…" Lizzie explained, "He hasn't. That's part of the problem."

"Well, when did you say that you liked him back?" Her mother asked.

"I thought I made that pretty apparent when I kissed him!" Lizzie exclaimed, now frustrated.

"Oh Lizzie," her mother said in a sad voice, "Men are so clueless about that sometimes. I had to knock your father over the head with the truth before he finally asked me out."

Lizzie held her hands up, "Spare me the gushy details Mom."

Her mother smiled, "I think you two need to talk. It might just take walking up to him and just saying out loud that you like him."

Lizzie's insides squirmed at the thought, "That sounds scary though."

Mrs. McGuire held one of Lizzie's hands and looked at her thoughtfully, "But it is totally worth it honey, trust me."

* * *

Gordo was lying on his bed, running over the details of the morning over and over in his mind. He remembered her smile and laughter as he tickled her on the swing, the rush of falling and being tangled together in the sand. He felt his pulse begin to beat harder as he remembered staring into her eyes, trying to gather the courage to kiss her. Her shirt had ridden up when they had fallen, and he couldn't help but run his hand up her soft stomach to her ribcage, his other hand softly caressing her back.

He couldn't forget how she shivered slightly under his touch and inched closer to him, almost as if she herself couldn't get close enough either. Was it his imagination?

He definitely didn't imagine that kiss though. He had only given her a small peck to begin with before Matt interrupted them. He ached to have been able to continue it. He imagined her soft lips caressing his own.

"Gordo?" a small timid voice forced Gordo's eyes to pop open and him to sit up suddenly.

Lizzie was standing in his doorway, looking timid. Gordo felt his stomach tighten. What if she came to say it was a mistake? That she didn't want that kiss in the park?

"How did you get in?" Gordo asked, "I thought my mom left to go to a doctor's appointment."

"She met me at the door on her way out. She told me to come on up." Lizzie said.

"Oh….Is everything okay?" Gordo asked quietly, "Did you… get in trouble with your mom?"

She gave a half smile, "No, she…wasn't mad."

"Really?" Gordo asked hopefully.

"Yup." She nodded. There was a silence in which Lizzie looked down awkwardly at the floor.

"You can…come in and sit down if you want." Gordo said, gesturing next to him on the bed.

She bit her lip and looked as if she was contemplating running away, but slowly walked over to him on the bed and sat down next to him. Gordo gulped.

"I need to say something Gordo…" Lizzie said after there was a moments silence. Gordo felt his stomach drop, this was it. She was going to tell him that they couldn't continue this…this, whatever it was, anymore. "I…" she paused, looking at him with large round eyes.

Gordo felt a wave of sadness wash over him at the thought. He couldn't go back to them just being friends, he just couldn't. Didn't she feel the chemistry between them too? Maybe they just hadn't kissed long enough, maybe she couldn't tell yet.

As he stared into her deep brown eyes and felt his heart drop down to his knees. He remembered what happened at the playground that day, and back at Lizzie's before Miranda came over. 'She must just be scared' he thought, 'It's the only explanation. I can't let her stop something before it even has a chance.'

Filled with a sudden urge to stop her from saying what she was about to say Gordo lunged at Lizzie, grabbing both sides of her face and bringing his lips down forcefully upon hers.

Gordo let his instincts take over as he took her bottom lip between his own and pulling his hands into her hair. She didn't respond for a moment, almost confirming Gordo's suspicions, but after a moment he felt her arms slide up his back and begin massaging his scalp. Gordo felt his heart soar at the feeling and instantly began to wonder why he had never done this before.

She responded to his kiss with equal vigor as she inched closer to where he was sitting on the bed. Gordo let one of his hands, acting almost on its own, trail down her back slowly, where he was rewarded with a small inch of skin exposed between the back of her shirt and the top of her jeans.

Gordo softly trailed his fingers on the soft skin all the way around to her stomach. He felt her shudder slightly and inch even closer to him on the bed. Again acting on instinct, Gordo ran his tongue along her bottom lip, his heart pounding in his ears. She responded by opening her mouth slightly and he deepened the kiss. He could hardly believe what was happening.

Lizzie pulled away after a few moments of bliss, and Gordo thought she was going to slap him or run away. Instead she smiled bashfully, her cheeks flushed and breathing hard.

"So I'm…." he hesitated, his newfound confidence he had right before he kissed her almost gone, "I'm guessing that…was…okay?"

She didn't say anything for a moment, but looked down at his bed and Gordo felt his stomach drop. "I mean, it's okay if it wasn't. I—I…" he stopped, unable to think what he would do if she wasn't okay with it.

Lizzie looked up suddenly in the middle of his speech, "No, Gordo, that was… that was great…"

He looked up hopefully, "Yeah?"

She smiled and bit her lip, "In fact, the reason I came here today…was to tell you that I really like you Gordo…as more than a friend."

Gordo felt his stomach do a funny swooping motion in his chest. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear you say that."

If possible, her smile widened even more, "So does that mean…" she trailed off, looking bashful again. He looked at her encouragingly. She started again, "Does that mean I can kiss you some more?" Gordo laughed and pulled her close in again, their lips meeting softly together.

* * *

El Fin 


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